Project Summary CDP The mission of the Career Development Program (CDP) is to stimulate basic, translational and clinical research in head and neck cancer by recruiting new and/or established investigators to the field. The CDP within the SPORE provides financial support for this mission while the scientific and clinical programs of the SPORE provide a stimulating mentoring environment. The CDP has the following objectives: 1) to identify, recruit, and fund promising investigators who are new to the field of head and neck cancer, particularly investigators who are newly independent; 2) to mentor these investigators in the field of translational head and neck cancer research and, in the case of new investigators, in the skills needed to be successful independent investigators; and 3) to assist these investigators in applying for head and neck cancer-related funding and in developing future Projects within the Head and Neck SPORE mechanism. The faculty within the SPORE includes a multidisciplinary roster of basic scientists and clinicians, all with a long-standing record in mentoring postdoctoral fellows, young scientists and research-oriented clinicians for careers in translational research. In the current funding period, we supported 7 junior faculty members in the CDP, including four women. All seven CDP-supported faculty members have received peer-reviewed funding in HNSCC and/or achieved objective career advancements. Two (Drs. Bauman and Duvvuri) now serve as co-leaders of new projects proposed in this SPORE renewal application. Using a combination of NCI and institutional matching funds, we will continue to support two promising translational investigators per year. The currently funded Research Training Grant in Head and Neck Oncology (T32) will continue to serve as one source of research-oriented candidates to fill these positions. In our prior application, we have demonstrated success identifying outstanding candidates across the broad spectrum of the health system and expect that extension to translational thyroid cancer research in this renewal will increase our opportunities to attract new recruits to the area of head and neck cancers. We expect that the focus of this program on translational research in head and neck cancer will serve as special magnet to young investigators who plan to engage in translational activities as their careers advance. The SPORE-initiated recruitment of new CDP candidates will continue emphasizing recruitment and mentoring of minority candidates and women.